MCKNOTES LAMB SAMSA

This is a recipe for a Russian dish that is quite tasty and unusual, but easy.

MCKNOTES LAMB SAMSA

I ordered a dish called lamb samsa in a Chicago Russian restaurant . I’d never heard of it before, but I really liked it. So I decided I could make it.

I have no idea how the Russians made it, but here’s my way. First of all, they served it as an appetizer with the lamb mixture inside a puff pastry. I have a friend who has celiac disease, so I decided that I could not only stretch the recipe and serve as a main dish, but also eliminate the wheat and serve the lamb mixture over rice.

I use lamb stew meat and cut it into really small pieces. Since the original dish was stuffed inside a puff pastry, I thought I would at least stay true to the texture. I cut up a yellow onion, diced into really small bits. In a bit of olive oil, I brown the meat and onions and season them to taste adding salt, black pepper and a heathy amount of cumin. I also add the juice of half a lemon. After the mixture has browned, I put it into a slow cooker and let it cook for a long time. I don’t use a crock pot, but rather a slow cook setting on my oven, so I let it cook for about five hours on a really low temperature. I think about 225 would work.

About forty-five minutes prior to serving, I prepare the rice. I prefer brown rice. My favorite is jasmine, but basmati is more generally popular these days. I serve the rice and then top it with the lamb mixture. If there’s leftover lamb and rice, I mix it together.

This can be served with a carrot salad. Finely grated carrots and raisins with a sweet oil dressing is all you need for this. Serve your carrot salad on a bed of greens.

That’s it. The most difficult part is cutting up the stew meat and the onions. This cooks for a long time, giving me time to take care of other culinary issues. Dessert is always fun to have. I really like the flavor of lamb, and this dish will definitely be one of my regular menu choices. The secret is cumin. Don’t spare the cumin. It’s the flavor of the cumin mixed with the lamb and onion that makes this dish.

Enjoy! This is easy and tasty. I’ve never even heard of this dish before a couple of months ago, so it’s a unique offering for me.